Chair, Department of Economics
On behalf of the Department of Economics, I welcome you to this website, where you will find information about our faculty and students, our alumni, our programs, our research centers, and our commitment to diversity.
We have a strong and distinguished faculty. Based on the last 10 years of publications, eight of our faculty members rank in the top 5 percent of economists worldwide in terms for research and 14 in the top 10 percent (IDEAS/ RePEc). This does not even account for the research productivity of our excellent group of assistant professors. We are in the top 25 percent of economics departments, ranking No. 39 based on the research of our best 10 faculty in the last 10 years (IDEAS/ RePEc). We are also No. 39 according to the US News rankings of best economics schools with a PhD granting program. Read the "Message From the Chair".
About Us
The Department of Economics is part of the University of Pittsburgh's Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Economics is one of the school's largest majors, serving more than 1,400 undergraduate students. Our vibrant research community includes more than 60 graduate students working toward their PhDs in economics, in addition to students in our Master of Science in Quantitative Economics (MQE). Faculty and graduate students explore six fields: econometrics, experimental and behavioral economics, labor/ development, macroeconomics/ international economics, microeconomic theory and urban/ public/ history. The department hosts six different seminars as well as brown bags where outside visitors, our faculty, and our graduate students present and discuss their research.
The department hosts the Pittsburgh Experimental Economics Laboratory (PEEL), a leading center for experimental economics research. The lab is equipped with cutting-edge hardware and software and can be configured to run a wide variety of computerized experiments. It also hosts the Behavioral Economics Design Initiative (BEDI) that seeks to advance the science and practice of economic design within the areas of women's advancement, charitable giving, health economics, labor markets, and market design.
The Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences
The Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences constitutes the liberal arts core of the University of Pittsburgh, one of the major public research universities in the United States. We provide instruction in natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences for all students studying at the Pittsburgh campus, including more than 10,000 students registered as Dietrich School undergraduates. In addition, the Dietrich School educates 15 percent—more than 1,500—of the University’s graduate and graduate professional students, making it the largest graduate program in Pittsburgh. In the summer of 2006, the University’s College of General Studies joined the (then) School of Arts and Sciences, expanding the community of learners to include nontraditional students.
Our nationally and internationally recognized faculty members excel at translating their research and scholarly expertise into top-quality graduate programs and a superb, highly selective liberal arts undergraduate program that integrates traditional disciplines with interdisciplinary and international perspectives and takes advantage of the breadth of the University and its urban environment.